Jack Garratt: 2016

British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jack Garratt doesn’t release his debut album, Phase, until February, but he’s already sold out major venues, like London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire. He has toured with Mumford & Sons and won the BBC's Sound of 2016 poll earlier this month, an honor shared by the likes of Adele and Sam Smith in past years. Garrett lives in Chicago these days with his girlfriend and conveniently, he's making big inroads Stateside too.

He has released two EPs over the last year, most recently the four-song Synesthesiac, a collection of songs inspired by a friend who has the unique neurological condition which enables her to experience numbers and colors as music.

The native Buckinghamshire musician's unique one-man band approach—simultaneously banging a drum and playing a synth with a guitar slung over his shoulder—makes his galvanizing live performances not just an unusual musical odyssey, but a real physical workout too (he broke a hearty sweat here in Studio A).

Jack Garratt is a gregarious man who is grateful for his breakout success. When he visited WFUV this fall, he enthusiastically discussed his jazz influences, his friendship with producer Rick Rubin, and he also played us a couple of songs, including the epic “Chemical,” which slyly unfolds as four compositions tucked into one.

[recorded: 10/8/15]